An energy company led by retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater is considering Jefferson County among possible sites for a $3 billion natural gas-to-liquid plant.

Jefferson Regional Medical Center — Pine Bluff’s nonprofit hospital operated by Jefferson Hospital Association Inc. — is one of the major sources of jobs for an area that has suffered from loss of industry, plummeting population and spiking crime.

State officials and business leaders don’t like to admit they think NCTR could help spawn a research park full of startups (and high-paying jobs). But they haven’t said it’s not a realistic vision, either.